video post

[ino]

[On the feed, you can see a pretty blonde girl staring at the screen. She's brushing her long hair with one hand, reaching to poke around on the screen with the other.

Finally, she lets out a little sigh, and mutters:]

Same shit, different day, I guess.

[She'll finally look directly into the camera, now, and put on a bit of a smile as she continues brushing her hair.]

So, it looks like I'm one of the few people whose age didn't get screwed around with. Anyone else out there?

Comments

[have_hat_will_travel]

Mommy always said be careful about anyone rounding children up!

[ino]

Oh.

[what kind of bizarre world ... well, she sighs]

You don't have anyone else from your world here, then?

[have_hat_will_travel]

Near as I know. But then I'm not an adventurer yet. If I was I might know someone? Maybe?

[ino]

Why would that make a difference?

[have_hat_will_travel]

Because then I would know more people, of course! There'd be some defining plot arc I would be part of, and rivals or allies would show up here by sheer coincidence!

[ino]

... This isn't like a book or a fairy tale or anything, you know.

[have_hat_will_travel]

... Of course not! But dramatic conventions still apply!

... Mostly!

[ino]

I think you'll find that things are a little bit different around here.

[have_hat_will_travel]

B-but... That doesn't make any sense... Adventurers are adventurers aren't they?

[ino]

Being someone who goes on adventures doesn't necessarily mean that other people will gather around you, though. And most of the people who are here have been brought here for war, not an adventure.

[have_hat_will_travel]

A war plot is a kind do of adventure, though! Just with more NPCs than usual. Enough to require special mass battle rules.

[ino]

[she frowns. she doesn't get all of that, but ...]

It's not a game. This is a real thing.

[have_hat_will_travel]

Do you think I don't know that? A game wouldn't require learning bits and pieces from like a hundred sourcebooks!

Of course reality show more complex, even if things come down to a series of dice rolls that only occur in metaphor!

... Did I use the word metaphor correctly?

[ino]

[staring at the screen. GIRL, YOU MAKE NO SENSE]

I ... don't think so?

But never mind that. The point is, you should be careful.

[have_hat_will_travel]

Awww....

But it's kinda a problem. If all there is are strangers, who do I go to?

[ino]

[... right. the kid does have a point ...]

You haven't met anyone you trust?

[have_hat_will_travel]

Mommy always said, even if you like someone, don't trust them until you can be decently sure they haven't just cast Charm Person on you.

Or Charm Monster. Or Enthrall. Or... Uh, you get the idea I think.

... Then again, my teacher pointed out any of those spells would cause me to completely ignore that advice, so...

[ino]

... Yeah. [she sighs] There are a lot of people here who can't do magic, though, if that helps?

[have_hat_will_travel]

But how would I know they couldn't cast magic? Just asking wouldn't work, I'm too young to have Sense Motive ranks!

[ino]

You can't just tell?

[have_hat_will_travel]

Well of course not! Telling someone you don't know how to cast magic is perfectly reasonable if they don't have evidence you can! That'd give the liar a huge bonus to their Bluff check! And if they've already charmed me, then I'll automatically take anything they say in the best way possible, that's nearly insurmountable!

... Of course if it's anything really powerful, you're stuck anyways without a high enough Will save, and that's all class levels...

[ino]

...

[nope, she didn't get any of that]

Well, I guess your mom taught you well when it comes to strangers.

[have_hat_will_travel]

But it leaves me at a loss for what I do now. If you can't trust...

[ino]

Isn't there some sort of daycare ... ? Someone must have set something up by now.

[she'd offer, herself, but that would be kind of creepy]

[have_hat_will_travel]

I just said why that's a bad idea!... Isn't it?